I don't know where he was from but one day I might find out - he could have passed for Italian, but my Mom's Irish DNA is where I get my looks (and people often think I'm German - maybe somthing to do with the Scandinavian Vikings who colonised parts of Ireland many centuries ago!).

That's great. I love all that stuff. I have visitied L'Aquila a few times and it's great for the mountains (and the August meteor showers which just about coincides with the big summer holiday all across Italy). Next time I'll take a more closer look at the local DNA.

P.S. There are also many movies filmed in Abruzzo, including, of course, George Clooney's 'The American' (based loosely on Martin Booth's 1990 book 'A Very Private Gentleman'). The Abruzzo Film Commission has a website with a directory of movies shot in Abruzzo: http://www.abruzzofilmcommission.org/en ... /index.php